I Want to Buy a Steward

Stars filled the sky, seemingly close enough to pluck if one climbed high enough.

Gu Zhengchen sat in the courtyard, gazing at the night sky, occasionally waving the palm-leaf fan in his hand.

Gu Qingqing kept watch, checking whether anyone nearby was peeking at them.

His mother, Gu Shi, was digging a pit in the cowshed with an iron shovel, preparing to bury ten strings of copper coins. There was a method to burying money: dig three feet deep, place nine strings at the bottom, then fill it in and tamp down the earth. After that, bury another string a foot and a half below the surface, fill it in, and tamp it down.

The advantage was that even if someone discovered it, only the top string would be lost. The disadvantage was that if the person digging knew the trick, all ten strings would be taken...

There was no helping it. This era had no safes.

Gu Zhengchen could not understand why people in ancient times were so fond of burying money beneath pigpens, cowsheds, and even cesspits. The trick had been used for over a thousand years. Even the stupidest thief should know where to dig by now.

Still, on closer thought, it made sense. Thieves in this era usually worked alone, and gangs were relatively rare. A lone thief digging blindly through a cowshed or pigpen might spend an entire night at it without finding anything...

After burying the money, Gu Shi led the old yellow ox over the spot to tread it firm, then scattered a layer of old soil on top. Only then did she finish and call Gu Qingqing back.

Gu Qingqing wanted to bother Gu Zhengchen, but Gu Shi pulled her into the room.

Gu Zhengchen reflected on everything he had done that day. The Wang Family probably would not trouble the Gu Family again anytime soon. With the kindhearted, united villagers of Dayan Village around them, the Gu Family should face no major problems.

The villagers of Dayan Village were very supportive of the white sugar workshop. They toiled in the fields all day, yet had little left by the end of the year. Year after year, they hovered on the brink of starvation and freezing to death. Even keeping an entire family fed and clothed was difficult.

The villagers lived in extreme hardship. When they fell ill, they would rather endure it than spend a little money on treatment. If they were injured, they simply applied some dirt, grass roots, or tree bark and called it done.

Such things were beyond the imagination of those pretty-boy celebrities in later generations whose wounds would heal before they even reached the hospital entrance.

No one would oppose an opportunity to earn extra income.

Besides, white sugar production could be arranged during slack farming periods or in the evenings, without interfering with farmwork. The villagers would not need to spend a single copper coin; the Sun Family would prepare everything required to make white sugar.

The villagers would only be responsible for making the white sugar, and the Sun Family would purchase it regularly by weight.

To keep the process secret, the Sun Family would build a dedicated compound in Dayan Village solely for producing white sugar. Elder Yan had also issued a stern warning: if anyone leaked so much as a word, he would make their entire family pay.

Of course, the white sugar business could not get underway so quickly. The Sun Family needed to find more sources of black sugar. The small amount currently available in Teng County would not even keep Dayan Village producing for two days.

Still, that was not particularly difficult. Teng County was well situated. To the north lay Rencheng, the seat of Jining Prefecture, along with Jining City and Qufu City, a little over a hundred li away. To the south, river transport led straight to Xuzhou, some two hundred li away.

Neither direction was particularly far, so costs would not be too high. They also needed to find shops and smooth the way through the right connections, all of which would take time. The business would probably be ready to begin after the summer harvest.

The next morning, Gu Zhengchen left home with ten strings of coins. Gu Qingqing badly wanted to come along, but unfortunately, she had to do the same job Old Zhu had done in his youth: herd cattle...

As soon as he entered Teng County, Liang Laoliu, the Liang Family's steward, came up to greet him.

"Master Provincial Graduate."

Liang Laoliu bowed with a broad smile.

Gu Zhengchen had met Liang Laoliu the day before. He smiled and said, "Sorry for the trouble today, Steward Liang."

Liang Laoliu replied respectfully, "It is my duty. May I ask how many Foster Sons or Foster Daughters you intend to purchase, Master Provincial Graduate?"

Gu Zhengchen said solemnly, "Just one Foster Son will do."

Liang Laoliu looked somewhat startled, then said, "You are certain to soar to great heights one day, Master Provincial Graduate. I fear purchasing only one Foster Son will not be enough."

Gu Zhengchen shook his head slightly. "One will suffice."

Seeing that Gu Zhengchen was firm, Liang Laoliu said no more on the subject and instead asked, "What requirements do you have for the Foster Son, Master Provincial Graduate? Age, skills, appearance..."

Gu Zhengchen took a deep breath. Since he was in Great Ming, he could only act according to its laws and rules.

Here, buying a person was not illegal.

"Could you find someone who understands social dealings, is good at handling people, and has seen something of the world?"

"Uh..."

"I mean, I want to buy a steward."

"Well..."

Liang Laoliu was stumped. He had originally thought Gu Zhengchen wanted to buy a page or an attendant-the sort who carried the shoulder pole or led the horse. He had not expected Gu Zhengchen to want a steward.

A steward was no ordinary servant. Besides handling everyday purchases of clothing and food, he needed to know how to deal with the authorities. Matters such as buying and selling land, transferring house deeds, or changing the registered name were all things he had to be able to manage.

He also needed to keep financial accounts. Leaving aside how many characters he could read, he at least needed to know arithmetic. During festivals and holidays, the steward also had to arrange which households to visit and what gifts to prepare. He needed to be well versed in the ways of the world...

After thinking it over, Liang Laoliu said, "Master Provincial Graduate, our northern region is not like the south. Trade in Foster Sons and Foster Daughters is limited to begin with, so I cannot promise we can buy a servant of that caliber. I will go and ask around."

"No problem."

Gu Zhengchen did not make things difficult for Liang Laoliu.

Liang Laoliu settled Gu Zhengchen into a private room at a restaurant. After arranging food and wine, he left a servant to attend him and went out to inquire.

Gu Zhengchen waited for nearly an hour before Liang Laoliu knocked and came in. Smiling, he said to Gu Zhengchen, "Master Provincial Graduate, I found someone."

"Where is he?"

Gu Zhengchen asked at once.

"Bring him in."

Liang Laoliu lowered his hands to his sides.

The servant led a middle-aged man into the private room. He was thirty-five or thirty-six, of medium build, with an honest face and alert eyes. A black mole marked his right cheek, and he looked utterly haggard.

"What is your name?"

Gu Zhengchen asked gravely.

The middle-aged man knelt and said sorrowfully, "Master, my name is Xue Cheng. I am from the Nanyang River area in Teng County. When I was young, I traveled with my father trading silk. I have been to Dadu (Beiping) and down to Hangzhou. During the end of the Yuan and the beginning of the Ming, my parents were killed by Yuan troops, leaving my wife and me to depend on each other. Now my wife lies weak and ill in bed, yet I cannot spare a single coin for medicine and treatment. That is why I beg you to take me in, master. I ask only that you save my wife. I, Xue Cheng, would spill my liver and brains upon the earth and repay you with my life!"

Watching Xue Cheng kowtow heavily, Gu Zhengchen frowned slightly. "What illness does your wife have?"

Xue Cheng clenched his fists. "The day before yesterday, my wife overworked herself trying to finish a bolt of cloth. She miscarried and lost too much blood..."

Gu Zhengchen thought for a moment, then asked, "Once you sell yourself, you will serve the Gu Family for the rest of your life, subject to beatings and punishment, and you must never betray your master. Have you thought this through?"

Xue Cheng gritted his teeth. "Fifteen strings of coins, and I will follow you for the rest of my life!"

"Wait here for now."

Gu Zhengchen glanced at Liang Laoliu, and the two left the private room.

Liang Laoliu smiled. "A man like this is hard to come by. You are fortunate, Master Provincial Graduate."

Gu Zhengchen looked at Liang Laoliu and said with a solemn expression, "Sorry for the trouble, Steward Liang, but please investigate his past further. Ideally, ask someone at the county office whether he has any lawsuits against him or has committed any criminal offenses. Also, send someone with a physician to examine his wife and see whether she truly suffered a miscarriage. If what he said is true, I will take him!"